[Design Story] Bigger Screen, Deeper Connections: How Life Expands With Family Hub™+

As homes have evolved, the kitchen has become a hub for social activity and family gatherings. No longer confined to just cooking and eating, the modern kitchen sits adjacent to living spaces, blurring the boundaries between functional areas in homes. Today’s kitchens serve as shared spaces where families commune, have fun and express their individuality. As the role of the kitchen has transformed, so too have its appliances — taking new leaps to meet the demands of a more connected and multifunctional space. For instance, the refrigerator has now become central to the family. With the introduction of door screens and IoT features through Family Hub™ in 2016, the refrigerator industry has changed forever. Fridges now let us enjoy art, entertainment and even shopping.

In 2023, Family Hub™ came back in a new shape and form, known as the Plus. The larger 32-inch display and the wide array of features were jam-packed with designers’ thoughtful and innovative ideas. The Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with Family Hub™+ truly unveils new lifestyles that directly impact us in bigger and more joyful ways. Here’s a look at the design decisions that made this all possible.

Why Is Family Hub™+ Bigger?

Family Hub™+ features a 32-inch full HD touchscreen that is 2.1x bigger than the previous 21.5-inch display. Now, what is the reasoning behind a bigger screen?

Adapting to the New Normal

The pandemic has forced many of us to spend more time at home, leading to a surge in creative ways to utilize our living spaces. The kitchen, for example, has evolved beyond a space for cooking and eating to become a multifunctional hub for family communication, hobbies and other everyday needs. As a result, our relationship with kitchen appliances, such as the fridge, has also changed. The refrigerator is the perfect partner that fits the modern role of the kitchen and has become a platform that provides services we need to align with these new lifestyles. We require more from our appliances than ever before. With its expanded screen and experiences, Family Hub™+ has adapted to become an essential part of this new flow between the kitchen and our daily lives.

Bigger Screen, Better Attention to Detail

Bigger screens mean greater attention to detail. For instance, the 32-inch display needed to be accessible to both children and wheelchair users, so the bottom portion of the display was positioned to be mindful of these users’ needs. The top of the display was raised, but the Accessible Screen feature lets users tap the home button twice to bring down the top portion of the screen. The panel surrounding the screen was carefully fitted to make sure the details on the edges were smooth. The mic at the bottom was also moved upwards so that every detail we need to see — or what we don’t — is precisely designed into the form.

How Is Family Hub™+ More User-Friendly?

A great amount of thought was put into creating a refrigerator design that could harmonize with its surroundings and other appliances.

Adding Tangible Taste to Every Touch

A wide variety of panel materials are available to choose from, allowing users to design a refrigerator that feels best to their touch. The satin glass is velvety in texture, offering both comfort and glow, while the glam glass brightens any environment with its high gloss surface. Metal embodies Millennial sentiments through a subtle, monotone finish. Panels are easily interchangeable¹ so that a single refrigerator base can support a wide range of styles.

Visual Comfort

Both from the inside and outside, the refrigerator intends to instill a sense of cohesiveness that would be found in a beautiful piece of standalone furniture. The inner mood light² is positioned to put more emphasis on the stored food within. Lighting is spread out evenly through the insides of the refrigerator to give visual comfort and illuminate the innermost parts of the appliance.

How Can We Bring Greater Joy?

A bigger screen means there’s more content to consume, allowing every moment spent with Family Hub™+ to be filled with joy.

Embracing Every Taste

We often pass by our refrigerator throughout the day — but the door remains mostly closed, leaving an empty space that could be put to better use. With Family Hub™+, we can transform that blank canvas to become a source of creativity by hanging up a beautiful piece of art. Working in collaboration with renowned galleries and artists, Samsung offers a diverse selection of Bespoke Atelier³ pieces to suit a wide range of tastes. These works of art are thoughtfully organized by year, theme and movement, making it easy to find the perfect style for any kitchen.

The Bespoke Atelier pieces can serve as beautiful artwork on their own or even as part of an in-house exhibition. When new galleries open, invitation letters are sent right to your fridge, which can be accepted and enjoyed through the hub display. By using Family Hub™+ to bring art into the heart of our home, we can add a touch of color, beauty and inspiration to our daily lives, all through a bigger display.

Seamless Experiences

In today’s busy world, families need a constant source of entertainment and information in the spaces where they gather. That’s why Family Hub™+ features a larger display, allowing families to multitask while enjoying their favorite content. With Samsung TV Plus,⁴ one of Samsung’s most popular apps, viewers can now move the screen to the top, middle or bottom of the display to ensure it’s at eye level. The Picture in Picture feature allows users to browse the web or search for recipes while still playing their favorite show or movie in the background.

Family Hub™+ is not just limited to TV. Mobile content can be streamed via Smart View without compromising screen ratios. This feature lets users share content on their mobile devices with each other in real time. Families can pull up photos on the Family Hub™+ display through the Gallery app or Google Photos to showcase them on the spot. These various content experiences will enrich every moment you spend in the kitchen.

How Is Family Hub™+ More Convenient?

As the smart home becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, Family Hub™+ sits at the heart of this transformation.

Hub for the Smart Home

IoT connections drastically improve convenience, giving us more freedom to enjoy leisurely activities. The 32-inch display shows bigger widgets that each lets you monitor and control the various devices inside your home. Family Hub™+ also comes with a built-in SmartThings Hub that can serve as the focal point of your smart home. SmartThings Home services⁵ like Cooking, Clothing Care, Home Care, Pet Care, Energy and Air Care are all easily within reach via Family Hub™+ to streamline your routine and simplify your day.

Smarter Cooking

You might sometimes find yourself looking through the fridge with no idea what to cook for dinner. These situations call for the Cooking Board. The SmartThings Cooking service provides recipes based on the available food and cooking appliances in your kitchen. It also sends optimized cooking directions to your appliances to make sure the temperatures and cooking durations are just right. The recipe option, one of the features of the SmartThings Cooking service, gives you a snapshot of the steps needed to create each dish. Cooking on your own is no longer daunting with the hub.

Shopping Through the Fridge

What should you do when you’re strapped for time and are running low on jelly or need ketchup for dinner tomorrow? Now, you can easily reorder your household favorites with the click of a button on your refrigerator door via Amazon Your Essentials. Simply look up the item through the Your Essentials button on the home screen to see the product details. Shopping through your refrigerator is now easier than ever.

While the refrigerator has served as merely a place to store food, the fridge door has long been a source of family communication, whether adorned with sticky notes, magnets or the latest masterpieces from our kids. With Family Hub™+, Samsung sought to capture this essence while crafting a product suited for the modern kitchen. Behind every expanded experience on the larger screen lies a designer’s careful deliberation, resulting in a truly immersive and delightful experience. The Bespoke 4-Door Flex™ Refrigerator with Family Hub™+ is at the forefront of innovation, bringing endless possibilities to customers’ lives.

* This article was created to help users better understand the design concept of the Family Hub™ refrigerator. The images shown are for illustrative purposes only and may differ from the actual product. Product specifications may vary by country, region and model.

¹ The refrigerator door equipped with the display does not support panel replacement. Color options may vary by region.
² The mood light feature is only available for models sold in South Korea.
³ The Bespoke Atelier is available only in South Korea, the U.S., Canada and select countries and regions.
⁴ Samsung TV Plus is available only in South Korea and the U.S.
⁵ Available SmartThing Home services may vary by country and region.
⁶ Amazon Your Essentials is only available in the U.S.